Title: Metal Gear Solid: Elements of Destruction- Chapter 10: Russia
Author: The Ice Goddess (FrozenBlueIce)
Fandom: Metal Gear Solid
Feedback: All feedback is welcome, whether it be negative or positive. I'm trying to improve on my writing so, please be honest: frozenblueice@yahoo.com
Pairing: The main pairing of this story is Snake/Otacon, which is obvious to anyone who knows of my fondness for Hal Emmerich, so therefore alright to disclose. There are others, but if I told you what they were, it'd ruin the story.
Series: No. There may be sequels in the future, but right now that is looking unlikely due to time constraints.
Rating: PG (this chapter only)
Disclaimer: All characters appearing in previous Metal Gear Solid video games are the property of Konami Computer Entertainment of Japan, and of their creator, Mr. Hideo Kojima. All new characters are the property of The Ice Goddess. This is a work of fanfiction, and in no way, shape, or form will I receive any monetary compensation for it. It is for entertainment purposes only.
Type: Action/Shounen-ai
Summary: This story takes place one year after the events of "The Big Shell." New information found by Otacon sends Snake back into action. (That's all I'm revealing!)
Chapter 10: Russia
Otacon wrapped his coat tight around his slender body as he, Snake, and Mei Ling stepped off of the bus. The air was as cool and crisp as a late autumn day's. In Murmansk, Russia, late June afternoons usually climbed to a "sweltering" 65° Fahrenheit. Today, however, the temperature was only 47°.
He looked up at the tall building in front of him. It was a modern building, out of place amongst the surrounding buildings in traditional Russian architecture. There was a marble cornerstone with "Russian Antarctic Research Center" in Russian carved into it.
Snake stood beside him, "So, here we are," he said, having already activated his RTTS.
Hal nodded. "We'll be in Antarctica soon."
Mei hugged herself, rubbing her arms. "I don't envy you guys," she told them, her newly implanted RTTS working perfectly, "I'm already freezing!"
Raiden came up behind her, wrapping himself around her body. "I'll keep you warm," he offered with a wry smile.
Mei Ling blushed, "You flirt! You're almost as bad as he is!" she chastised, pointing in Dave's direction.
Snake winked, blowing the woman a kiss. "Baby, I'm badder."
Otacon sighed heavily, clearing his mind. "Alright. Here goes nothing," he said.
The four stepped inside the RARC. The warmth of the building's heater welcomed them, allowing Hal to loosen his grip on his coat a bit. They found themselves in a large lobby, with tall ceilings, and beautiful, giant, framed paintings of the Antarctic hanging along the walls. The floor was a polished black marble, their reflections clearly visible in it.
At the far end of the lobby, there was a security desk, with a lone security guard seated behind it. He sat silently watching the monitors, looking rather bored. They walked up to the desk, at which point the guard stood up, much more alert than he had seemed only a moment ago. He was a young man, probably in his early twenties, with neatly groomed, sandy blond hair and cool gray eyes.
"Your names, please?" he said, grabbing a clipboard.
Otacon spoke up, "I'm Dr. Richard Emmerson. We're with the American team that is to accompany the RART 2nd division to Molodezhnaya."
The security guard moved his pen tip like a pointer down the long list of names until it stopped on the one that he was looking for. "Ah, welcome Dr. Emmerson." The man handed Otacon another clipboard. "Just sign in here."
The scientists neatly signed that name to the visitor's list, then stood aside so that his partners could do the same.
Mei Ling stepped forward, "Dr. Ming Lei"
The guard looked down his list, then gestured for her to sign in as well.
Snake was next, "Dr. Nathair Davids."
Lastly, Raiden stated his alias to the security guard. "Dr. Luc Marcheur Du Ciel."
After they were all signed in, the guard opened up a drawer, producing four visitor's passes and handed one to each of them.
"Dr. Yadik is waiting for you in his lab on the fourth floor." He pointed down the hall to a set of elevators. "Take the elevator up, then it's the third door on your right."
"Thank you," the false Dr. Emmerson said, clipping his visitor's pass to his coat.
The group made its way down the hall, footsteps echoing in the large open room they had just left. Snake pushed the "up" button on the panel, and the elevator made its way down. Slowing to a halt, the doors opened with a chime, and a voice in Russian over a speaker announcing, "Ground floor- this elevator is going up." They stepped inside, pressing the appropriate button. The doors shut, and the elevator began its journey to the fourth floor.
"Fourth floor- this elevator is going down," announced the voice as the elevator made it to its destination. Snake and his partners got off and walked down the hall until they reached the third door on the right, just as the guard had directed. It had a gold plate on it that read "Dr. Yadik's Laboratory" in the Cyrillic alphabet. Hal knocked, and a voice called out to them. "Come in!"
He opened the door into a cold room filled with all sorts of experiments. There were fossils laid out in groups and categorized by possible region of origin. There was a heavy door to the left that had "Frozen Samples" written above it. An impressive array of computers and instruments were scattered among the worktables. Hal wished he could check out all of the neat things he saw, even though he could probably build over ¾ of them himself, from scratch.
"Dr. Emmerson, I presume?" Dr. Yadik asked for confirmation as he dried his freshly washed hands on a paper towel. The RART scientist was of average height, but his somewhat stocky build made him appear taller than he actually was. He was in his early fifties, and not surprisingly had more "salt" than "pepper" in his thinning, close cropped hair.
"Yes," Otacon answered him, extending his hand, "Nice to meet you."
Dr. Yadik grasped the slender man's hand firmly, "A pleasure." He gestured for the group to follow him into his office. "Please. Have a seat."
They all situated themselves in the four chairs that were scattered around the office. Otacon cringed a bit as he looked around. There were papers strewn about everywhere, file cabinets hanging open, and what looked like the remnants of another day's lunch sitting on top of the table in the far corner. He wondered how the Hell the man found anything he needed in this place.
The scientist rummaged through the piles of papers on his desk. "I was under the impression that the American Team cancelled their part in the expedition due to some internal issues," he said.
Dr. Emmerson nodded. "They did, but I had been hoping to go for such a long time now. It's been my dream to see the Antarctic. I've studied the Arctic for a while, so when the opportunity arose to shift my studies southward, I went for it. After the disappointment of the cancellation, I begged and bargained with my boss, Dr. Jones, to allow me to take a small team of colleagues at my own expense, so he agreed."
"I see," he said, finding the paper that he needed amongst the rubble. "Well, I checked your clearance. You have full permission to travel on the 'L'yednik' any time you like."
"Thank you," Hal said, shifting his glasses.
"The submarine leaves on the 30th, so until then, please feel free to use our facilities as you see fit," Yadik offered.
"Thank you again," Hal replied, reaching out to shake the other's hand another time.
Yadik shook his hand, then stood up and walked over to the other three people that sat beside "Emmerson".
"This is your team?" he asked.
Hal nodded, "Oh… yes. I'm sorry," he said, embarrassed that he had forgotten about his companions. He held his hand out in Snake's direction. "This is my Chief of Staff, Dr. Nathair Davids."
"A pleasure to meet you, Doctor," Davids told the scientist.
"This is my specialist in Paleontology, Dr. Ming Lei," Hal gestured at the Asian woman.
"How do you do?" she replied, giving a friendly wave.
"And this is my Polar Meteorologist, Dr. Luc Marcheur Du Ciel."
"Hello," Raiden said, shaking the RART scientist's hand.
Dr. Yadik smiled. "Quite an impressive and diverse group you have here, Dr. Emmerson. I hope your time at our base is useful to your research. It looks as if you intend to study several areas."
"Yes, we do," Hal answered, "And the Center for Polar Research will be most grateful for your generosity."
"You're welcome," Yadik replied.
Author's Notes:
Average daytime, late-June temperature: 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Source: www.weather.com
The group's aliases explained:
Dr. Richard Emmerson- Emmerich split in half like so: Emme Rich. Then reversed order: Rich Emme. Then… Richard Emmerson. Ta Da!!!
Dr. Luc Marcheur Du Ciel- Explained in Chapter 9.
Dr. Nathair Davids- I'm sure y'all get the "Davids" part. Duh! Nathair is Scottish Gaelic for "Snake". It is also a name.
Dr. Ming Lei- Duh!!! Hehehehehehehe…